The funhouse of murder • Stray Kids X reader

28 ☠️

What on earth were we supposed to do? Go back to where we sat camp? It might be the safest, considering this place was apparently set with traps. But then again, for all we knew there were traps there as well, just not activated before. The tension had risen horribly, the mood risen from quite optimistic back to agitated, uncertain and quite frankly scared. Where I felt like it was all going to be okay first, flashbacks from the last room were already coming back to me. The helpless, scared looks on everyone's faces when they were slowly losing hope.

"Search..." Hyunjin slowly said. "We have to search, quickly! For anything that will fit here. There has to be something buried or whatever, if we just find it before the storm we still have a chance," he rambled, not ready to give up on hope just yet. "Where would be even start? Without a clue, it would take anyone months, we have days, maybe even hours depending on how bad the storm is now..." I blurted out. I didn't mean to make it sound so pessimistic, but I honestly just couldn't seem to think of anything right now. Nothing I seem to think of worked.

Maybe another gift could help? Did we just have to do everything the comments said now, reach the highest number we possibly could? For now it seemed like the only option we had, but in all honesty, I already hated the idea more than anything. If it was to survive, I would do anything, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to 'take anything off' for everyone to see, I didn't want to 'do whatever' with any of these guys. I hated feeling so dependent on other's, only to make you feel like a lifeless doll. I hated being out of control, and here I was, not even able to think straight because of it. Still, I couldn't help but look up at the comments. Even if I hated it completely. If this was the only way to survive...

'Stop spamming the answer, let them figure it out on their own!

'Guys, the stone!!!'

'If you keep on going they're just going to cut off the comments, everyone shut up!'

'Jisung, the stone you tripped over!!'

My head shot to Jisung, my eyes wide. Of course. It made sense. To unlock a system in a stone table, you need a stone tablet to fit in it. "Jisung, the comments!" Felix shouted out before I got the chance. "What stone are they talking about?!" Though Jisung still seemed to ponder over what it was they were talking about, Minho suddenly let out one of the loudest gasps I had heard in my life. "F*ck, jisung! How did we not think of that! You literally even said so, what was a stone doing in the middle of the desert!" As if a lightbulb switched on above his head, Jisung now also gasped, putting all the pieces together.

"Did you guys take it with you, just by any chance?" Chan asked hopefully, only to be let down. "No, it seemed like something insignificant at the time." Chan cursed. "There's no way we'll find it back then. Even with the compass, it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, though I honestly feel like a stone in a desert is even worse." Minho vigorously shook his head, already pressing the others behind to move. "I have photographic memory, I can find it!" With such a small sentence, hope was quickly restored for all of us. There was a way out. Though maybe the comments were indeed about to be shut off because of this, these possible last comments may have just saved our lives.

From the back of the line, Changbin slowly started walking backwards, tracing back the trail of footsteps left in the sand. Felix started following, nudging my arm to tell me to do the same. At least until we were back on the hill, as far as we knew there were no traps set there. The closer we all got to the hill, the faster the tempo went up, progressing from a slow careful walk to running as if your dear life depended on it. "Yah, Minho, you get up front!" Changbin called out, who was now in the lead. Though he was closing in, I grabbed his wrist, pulling him more to the front to give him the extra push, trying not to fall myself in the process.

"Seungmin, are you okay?" I panted. There was no way we would keep this up all the way, especially since it would probably be a four, maybe five hour walk alone, meaning running would still cost us at least an hour. Given the tempo we were going at now, especially with Seungmin, we wouldn't make it. And though my ankle was already a lot better than before, running through sand still wasn't ideal. "Guys, we have to slow down!" Seungmin gasped for air already. He really was more worn out than usual... Was it really because of me? Because he carried me back then?

"Just hang in a little longer, Seungmin-ah. I wanna get as far as fast as we can," Changbin told him, while Chan fastened his pace to pull Seungmin along, the both now behind the rest, but hanging in there. I definitely understood him though, with every step I put it was becoming harder and harder to hold on. "Changbin, help me out here," Felix urged him, eyeing him something. Changbin glanced at me quickly, giving Felix a nod. "Sorry Y/N, I know you don't like it but endure it for me would you?" Changbin asked, while the both guys took one hand each, taking me along to match the tempo of the group again.

And so we kept on running, passing the previously set up camp, as well as the sandstorm, which was now already visible again from the camp. And trust me. If that was what we'd get caught in, we weren't making it out alive.